Author: KVIA

Gabrielle Lopez

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. (KVIA) — Parents and guardians can get a car seat inspection and installation help Saturday at the Sunland Park Sports Complex.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation said inspections are free and don’t require an appointment. They will be first-come, first-served at 4700 McNutt Rd.

The fitting station will open at 9 a.m. and close at 11 a.m.

Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians will help guardians make sure child car seats are properly selected and installed. They will also check if a car seat has been recalled, expired or damaged.

At the inspection, guardians may replace a car seat for $35 in cash, NMDOT said. Change won’t be available.

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Carpio Griego

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Dolly Parton has made an impact with her music and philanthropy. For one El Paso radio station, an interview with the superstar served as a reminder of Parton’s good character.

Parton’s family announced her death Tuesday. She was 80 years old. KLAQ Director of Content Kevin Vargas said he interviewed the country music icon in 2023, leading up to the release of her album Rockstar.

Vargas has covered the Woodstock ’94 music festival and the Olympics, but he said his interview with Parton became one of the most enjoyable in his career.

He said her legacy will live beyond her music. She said her humanitarian work and film experience culminated an impact that “transcends format.”

“A true queen of country music, a true superstar in every sense of the word,” Vargas said. “She was a humanitarian. She took care of people, her library — everything. She did so many things that didn’t even get to the headlines that were just about helping other people and being a decent human being.”

Vargas said KLAQ was one of nine rock stations Parton’s label deemed credible enough to interview with.

He said her greatest legacy would be that she was a great person.

“Sincerity. Honesty. Integrity. Those three words really sum up Dolly real well,” Vargas said. “She will never be forgotten, and she’s going to inspire a whole new generation.”

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Gabrielle Lopez

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (KVIA) — A fire burned around 80 junk vehicles in Juarez, according to the city.

In a news release, the city of Juarez said a fire burned at a junkyard off Casas Grandes highway at the intersection with De las Alturas. The junkyard is also known as “El Forcito.”

It happened between Aug. 23-24. The city said during that time frame, the Juarez fire department responded to 35 emergency calls, including the fire at El Forcito.

Firefighters used water tankers and five fire engines to put out the fire, according to the city. Recyclers in the area also provided three water tankers to help.

Civil Protection said no injuries were reported. The agency’s report indicated the fire is still under investigation.

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Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — College-bound high schoolers in El Paso had an opportunity to look into which school could be the best fit for them. Thursday, the Ysleta Independent School District hosted a college fair for students in and out of the district.

According to a news release, a morning session for the fair is reserved for YISD high school juniors and seniors. That will take place from 9 a.m. to noon.

An evening session from 6-7:30 p.m. will be open to all El Paso students and families, the district said. It will take place at the YISD Central Office Atrium (9600 Sims Dr.).

At the fair, families can participate in workshops to learn about financial aid resources and scholarships. Representatives from universities and colleges across the country will also be there, the district said.

“We’re able to look at all the schools, not just inside of Texas. So I feel like it’s allowing us to go outside of our comfort zones and be able to see what is beyond Texas,” Kaitlyn Rivera said. She’s a senior at the Young Women’s Leadership Academy.

The district shared a list of some of the colleges that attended the fair.

Borderland-area Universities

University of Texas at El Paso

New Mexico State University

Texas Universities

UT Austin

Texas A&M University

Texas Tech University

Rice University

Out-of-State Universities

Arizona State University

University of Arizona

Northern Arizona University

University of San Diego

Boston University

Tufts University

University of Denver

University of Iowa

University of Michigan

University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Vanderbilt University

Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico)

Military Academies

U.S. Military Academy

U.S. Naval Academy

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Gabrielle Lopez

HORIZON CITY, Texas (KVIA) — A 20-year-old man has been charged with sexual assault, according to the Horizon City Police Department.

According to an arrest affidavit ABC-7 obtained, Jonathan Ontiveros allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on Aug. 17.

Documents said Ontiveros met the woman while she was working on Aug. 6. The two exchanged phone numbers and started talking.

On Aug. 9, the two went on a date, documents said. The woman told investigators she thought the date went well, and continued talking to Ontiveros.

Investigators wrote that on Aug. 17, Ontiveros picked up the woman and took her to his house to have dinner with his family.

After dinner, the two went to Ontiveros’ bedroom to watch a movie, according to documents.

Ontiveros allegedly kept touching and grabbing the woman after she told him she didn’t want to have sexual intercourse. Documents said she kept pushing Ontiveros’ hands away. She told investigators she had to continuously tell Ontiveros to stop.

Documents said Ontiveros acknowledged she didn’t want to have sexual intercourse.

Ontiveros allegedly pinned her shoulder and forced her arm down to try to touch her. Documents alleged Ontiveros moved her to keep her legs open.

The woman told Ontiveros she didn’t want to have sexual intercourse and was uncomfortable with his family being in the house. She also said she didn’t want to have intercourse since they didn’t have contraceptives, according to documents.

Documents said Ontiveros acknowledged she didn’t want to have sexual intercourse again.

Ontiveros then allegedly touched the woman and took her shorts off. Documents said he sexually assaulted her.

The woman told investigators she got an Uber and left Ontiveros’ house.

On Aug. 19, she went to a medical center for a sexual assault forensic exam.

The next day, the woman helped police identify Ontiveros. She also told investigators that Ontiveros allegedly forced her to touch his genitals, documents said.

The Horizon Police Department said it arrested Ontiveros on a sexual assault warrant.

According to jail records, police booked Ontiveros into the Downtown El Paso jail Aug. 20 on a $50,000 bond. Police said his bond was set with additional court-ordered conditions.

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Gabrielle Lopez

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A 35-year-old woman allegedly stabbed her mother’s caretaker in Northeast El Paso Tuesday, according to an arrest affidavit.

Police arrested and charged Shaloni Mariah Wallace with murder, the El Paso Police Department said. It identified the stabbing victim as 36-year-old April Marie Flores.

(Courtesy: EPPD)

According to EPPD Officer Adrian Cisneros, it happened around 11 a.m. at 4980 Sean Haggerty Dr. That’s at the Patriot Palms apartments near the U.S. 54.

Upon arrival, police officers found Flores on the sidewalk between two apartment buildings. Documents said she had multiple stab wounds on her torso.

Multiple witnesses helped Flores, according to documents. Flores also alleged that Wallace stabbed her.

Flores later died at a hospital, police said.

A maintenance worker told officers he saw Wallace walking toward and apartment holding a large knife with blood on it, documents said. Investigators said officers followed a trail of blood that led them to the apartment the maintenance worker mentioned.

Investigators said Wallace opened the door and shut it after she saw police. Officers made forced entry into the apartment and took her into custody.

Officers noticed the front door of a different apartment unit was open and saw what appeared to be blood on the entryway, documetns said. Inside, officers met Wallace’s mother.

Wallace’s mother said Flores was her caretaker, documents said.

According to Wallace’s mother, Flores has been her caretaker for about two weeks, documents said. Wallace used to be her mother’s caretaker, but “had to let her go because she was not doing a good job.”

Flores went to her apartment at 9:20 a.m. Tuesday. Wallace went to the apartment at about 10:45 a.m.

Wallace lives in the same apartment complex, but in a different unit with her 11-year-old daughter, documents said.

Her mother said Wallace and Flores didn’t know each other and “everything seemed fine initially,” according to documents.

Wallace allegedly started hitting Flores for an “unknown reason.” Wallace’s mother said she didn’t see if Wallace had a knife during the attack and saw blood by the front door, documents said.

The maintenance worker said he heard someone yelling for help. Documents said he saw Flores walking with her head down and grabbing onto her chest with blood all over her.

Documents said the maintenance worker ran to the property office and told his supervisor to call 911, documents said. He walked back to Flores, who was on the ground. Investigators said that’s when the maintenance worker saw Wallace allegedly walk by with a knife.

Investigators received video footage from an apartment nearby. Documents said the video showed Wallace allegedly holding a knife and wearing the same clothes the maintenance worker told investigators about.

In an interview, Wallace allegedly couldn’t state why she went to her mother’s apartment, documents said. When authorities asked her if anyone besides her mother was in the apartment, Wallace allegedly said “no,” but then later said “possibly.”

Police temporarily closed the apartment complex area for investigation.

Patriot Palms residents told ABC-7 they felt left in the dark when police closed off the area.

The situation upended residents like David and Heather Brown, who moved from New Jersey to be near their grandchildren.

“It’s just unfortunate that something like that had to happen. That’s my issue. There’s a lot of kids around here,” David said.

Officer Cisneros said anyone with information about the stabbing should call police or the Crime Stoppers at (915)566-TIPS(8477) or through its tip form.

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Gabrielle Lopez

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KVIA) — A 24-year-old woman faces multiple felony charges after allegedly assaulting two juveniles in Las Cruces. One of the teens had to be airlifted to El Paso for treatment, according to documents ABC-7 obtained.

According to jail records, Anissa Danae Vigil faces the following charges:

Kidnapping (felony)

Two counts of imprisonment (felony)

Aggravated assault against a household member with a deadly weapon (felony)

Two counts of battery against a household member

Criminal damage to property of a household member

Two counts of abuse of a child resulting in great bodily harm (felony)

Two counts of abuse of a child (felony)

Two counts of stalking

Two counts of telephone use to threaten, harass or offend

Officers learned that Vigil and her ex-girlfriend had just broken up the night before, documents said. Vigil alleged her ex cheated on her with a 17-year-old girl.

Vigil’s ex told investigators that Vigil allegedly went through her phone while she slept and “became jealous of her communication” with the teenager and assumed she was cheating.

The next morning, Vigil’s ex asked for a ride home. Documents said when they were near her home, Vigil allegedly told her ex to get out of the car. Her ex stepped out and refused to go back in. Documents said Vigil tried to run her ex over, which another person witnessed.

Vigil’s ex jumped her neighbor’s walls and ran through the desert to get away from her, documents said. Vigil found her a few streets over, allegedly got out of her car, and threw her ex into the car.

Vigil also allegedly prevented her ex from leaving the vehicle by accelerating when she tried to open the car door and grabbing the back of her shirt. Vigil allegedly said she “just wanted to talk.”

Her ex went inside her home and locked the front door behind her. Documents said Vigil stepped into her home and initially refused to leave when told.

Vigil allegedly got on top of her ex in her bedroom, twisted her hands and said she was going to break them. Documents said Vigil’s ex’s younger brother witnessed this.

Vigil’s ex told her to step outside and told her brother to lock the home’s doors. Vigil allegedly started to damage a security door by pulling the screen off. Documents said she tried to unlock the door.

Vigil’s ex thought she left and said a friend later came over. Documents alleged Vigil suddenly appeared behind the friend and followed them all around town, even into the desert. Investigators said they received video of the incident. Vigil eventually lost track of them.

Later, Vigil’s ex returned home and slept. Documents said while she slept, Vigil called and texted her constantly.

Vigil told investigators she texted her to ask her to remove her name from the lease they had just signed. Documents said Vigil’s ex didn’t answer her texts or calls.

She allegedly showed up to her ex’s home again and demanded to speak with her. Documents said her ex asked Vigil for a ride to a family party. When they arrived, Vigil allegedly refused to let her out of the car and grabbed her shirt.

Vigil eventually let her ex out of the car and into the party. She allegedly texted her to “come back or she would cause a scene.” She started to honk the car horn until her ex came back, documents said.

Her ex asked Vigil to leave and left the party with her mother. Her ex asked her mother to drop her off at the 17-year-old’s home because she didn’t want Vigil to “go to their home and cause problems,” documents said.

Vigil allegedly texted her ex, stating she knew her location and that she knew she was with the teenager.

Vigil said she found her ex’s location through a friend and drove there to talk about the lease. She told investigators she saw her ex walk out with two teenagers.

While Vigil’s ex visited, the 17-year-old girl said she heard Vigil call and say she was going to “pull up” to their location.

The teenager told investigators that Vigil allegedly got on top of her and punched her all over her body. The teen said that while Vigil allegedly hit the other teen at the home, she went inside and grabbed a baseball bat.

The teenager said she hit Vigil with the bat to separate Vigil from the other teen. Documents alleged Vigil started fighting over the bat and took hold of it.

Vigil allegedly started hitting the 17-year-old with a bat.

The 17-year-old’s mom walked up to the fight, and everyone separated, documents said. She told Vigil to leave and that she was calling law enforcement.

When Vigil drove away, the 17-year-old girl allegedly hit Vigil’s car with a bat again.

Vigil’s ex told investigators that the teenager’s mom hid the baseball bat in the garage and told everyone not to tell police about it. Documents said police later found the bat.

According to documents, the fight left the teenager with a concussion. A doctor told investigators she threw up blood at some point. She was airlifted to an El Paso hospital to receive treatment for her injuries.

Investigators noted that the other teenager had several injuries, including a broken wrist.

After the fight, Vigil allegedly called her mom and said she “messed up” and had to go to the hospital after she “got jumped.”

Vigil met her mother at the Mountain View hospital. She was later discharged with minor injuries.

During questioning, investigators noticed Vigil had dried blood on her face, head and arms, documents said. Part of her head and face were also swollen.

Jail records said police booked Vigil into the Dona Ana County Detention Center on Sunday without bond.

Charges for the others are pending, according to documents.

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Gabrielle Lopez

ALAMOGORDO, N.M. (KVIA) — A water valve replacement may temporarily cause a water outage on 10th Street in Alamogordo Thursday.

The city said the outage may occur Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Wednesday, traffic control will be in place. The eastbound outside right lane of 10th Street between Jefferson Avenue and Madison Avenue will close, the city said.

Below is a map of the impacted area, according to the City of Alamogordo.

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Nichole Gomez

El Paso, TX (KVIA-TV)-United Way of El Paso County and the Paso del Norte Health Foundation are partnering to strengthen the nonprofit sector and establish more robust boards across the Paso del Norte area. The training series offered by the PDN board is intended for the purpose of developing nonprofit leaders as well as the wider community workforce.

2026 Fall Board Training Series

• September 8: Essential Functions of a Board: Roles & Responsibilities — Stanton Tower Auditorium• September 22: Ethical Decision Making — Stanton Tower Auditorium• October 6: Financial Oversight — Stanton Tower Auditorium• October 20: Fundraising Fundamentals — Stanton Tower Auditorium

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Mia Tricarico

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — El Paso County leaders are exploring ways to expand holiday time off for county employees to combat workplace burnout, retain staff and boost overall productivity.

During a Commissioners Court meeting Monday, human resources presented several proposed holiday schedule adjustments based on staff research.

According to county HR data, county employees logged more than 170,000 collective monthly leave hours in fiscal year 2026 alone. Presenters said there’s an underlining a growing need for flexible time-off policies across departments.

The court reviewed options that would grant employees an additional five calendar days off. Leaders noted that county departments carry heavy workloads while interacting with the community daily.

“Our employees provide so many services to the community,” said Precinct 3 County Commissioner Iliana Holguin. “They’re dealing with the public every single day, and we want to make sure that we’re compensating our employees accordingly,” said Iliana Holguin, El Paso County Commissioner for Precinct 3.

County officials referenced studies showing that scheduled breaks significantly improve output. El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego emphasized that mental wellness directly impacts job performance.

“We know that if you take care of people, the productivity increases, efficiency increases,” Judge Samaniego said. “And so we get a lot more from an employee who’s happy than someone who’s not happy.”

Holguin noted that preventing burnout is essential, especially after tight budget cycles limited other financial incentives.

“We want to make sure that our employees aren’t burning out, that they’re getting the time off that they need to recharge and refresh and come back to work,” Holguin said.

Commissioners did not take a final vote because holiday dates shift each year. However, they are leaning away from flexible floating holidays, which could create scheduling complexity. They are in favor of fixed calendar days.

Proposals include granting off the Friday before the Fourth of July or five consecutive days during the winter holiday break, from Dec. 26-30.

Addressing potential public concerns about delayed county services, leaders explained that a late-December break minimizes community disruption because public demand drops significantly over the holidays.

“A lot of families take time off. They travel. They’re not physically here,” Holguin said. “That’s why we think that that’s when these additional days off would have a lower impact on the public in general.”

Judge Samaniego added that aligning time off during low-volume periods prevents backlogs for returning staff.

“If we could coincide with vacation being placed when the buildings are closed or when we don’t have a lot of work here at the county… that would really help,” Holguin said. “If you only have some employees gone, but other employees still working, then the workload grows for some employees… By having everyone take the same days off, the workload stays the same.”

Officials noted that essential 24/7 operations, such as the sheriff’s office, would receive alternative scheduling accommodations. Human resources will continue refining the proposal before the Commissioners Court takes a final vote.

ABC-7 asked El Pasoeans how they felt about the additional vacation time.

“I think that it’s unfortunately becoming common, you know, in this country that the average person ends up paying for the privileges of the people that we elect.” Legal assistant Marissa Rojero said. Rojero told ABC-7 she only receives five days of PTO a year.

When I showed Rojero a list of all the County’s paid holidays this was her reaction.

“Well, I guess you can see my reaction. I’m shocked. I mean, I’m shocked, but I’m also not surprised. Unfortunately. I think that it’s kind of common that we see people that have more privileged positions and Decision makers often favor themselves. Right. And don’t necessarily extend that in policy or, you know, extend that opportunity to the average person.”

Other people in the community told ABC-7 how much PTO they receive.

“I’m a welder. We don’t even get that many hours, days we get like six, seven holidays a year. And they’re getting 25 in a year. It’s not right.” Oscar Zamarron, a welder told ABC-7.

“It’s not. It’s not right. It’s not right. It’s because we all should have equal, we should have equal rights and we don’t. It’s more favor to the people that work in the office.” Added Zamarron.

While county officials point to burnout prevention and seasonal slowdowns to justify the expansion, everyday workers facing limited paid time off continue to press leaders to balance municipal benefits with public accessibility and service availability.

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